Freakboy

Freakboy by Kristin Elizabeth Clark

Freakboy by Kristin Elizabeth Clark, Farrar Straus Giroux Books, New York, 2013. ISBN: 978-0374324728

Plot Summary

“Freakboy” is told from the point of view of three different teens. Brendan seems to have the perfect life between his good grades, his wrestling meets, and his beautiful girlfriend, Vanessa.  But Brendan keeps having strange thoughts--like  what would it be like to be a girl, so graceful and beautiful? And how can he be transgender if he still likes being a guy?

Vanessa isn’t sure what’s going on with her boyfriend.  Sure he’s been moody and distant before, but this time it’s different.  She knows she’s not the typical frilly girlfriend--after all, she’s on the school’s wresting team with Brendan. Could her being a tomboy have something to do with Brendan’s distance?

Angel is the beautiful, worldly young woman who works at the local LGBTQ teen center. She’s also transgender and seems to be pretty comfortable with her life and who she is. Motivated by her abusive past, Angel is determined to help other LGBTQ teens get help and find their way. But can she get Brendan the help he needs, especially when he’s not being honest?

Critical Evaluation

The narrative in “Freakboy” has two distinct qualities with its  multiple first person points of view (POV) and being written in verse.  Clark makes it easy to figure out who’s speaking in each chapter, not only by their name at the beginning of their section but also their distinct voices. Brendan’s words are as jumbled as his thoughts, Vanessa ties in her family toward how she’s feeling, and Angel uses descriptions such as the color of the sky to correlate with how she’s feeling. The multiple POV’s helps the reader gain a better understanding into each of the characters, much more than a third person narrative might have.

Being written in verse does several favors for the book.  Readers who are fans of Ellen Hopkins and other YA verse authors will find Clark’s writing style familiar. Despite the book being over 400 pages long, it’s a quick read and reluctant readers will find it easy to get into the plot.  Several of the pages are also written out in different shapes: a T for transgender, a question mark for Brendan’s feelings. While the book does deal with several difficult and challenging topics such as gender identity and depression, the POV’s and verse narrative makes for an easy and diverse read.

Reader’s Annotation

If you like being a guy, but also think about being a girl, does that make you a freak? That’s what Brendan Chase thinks of himself, anyway.

About the Author

“Kristin Elizabeth Clark lives and writes in the Santa Cruz Mountains, Northern California. She hikes with her dog and reads to her cats… but she’s not one of THOSE people. Really. She has worked as a child advocate within the juvenile justice system, as a children’s theater producer, and is a proud volunteer at Project Outlet in Mountain View, California. Her young adult debut, Freakboy, was published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR) on October 22^nd, 2013.”

(Bio. Retrieved  November 19^th, 2014 from http://kristinelizabethclark.com/about/)

Genres

LGBTQ

Contemporary/Coming of Age 

Verse

Curriculum Ties:

Poetry

Booktalking Ideas

1: Is it easier or harder to express your thoughts through verse?

2: Which of the three characters do you relate with most?

Reading Level/Interest Age

14+

Grades 9+

Challenge Issues

LGBTQ

Mentions of depression/suicide

Defense File

1—Ensure that policies such as “Freedom to Read,” “Collection Development,” and “Challenged Materials” are available for patrons and staff to read and research. Have list of awards and reviews for titles, as well as a “Reconsideration Form” on hand at all branches.

2—Listen to challenges and complaints openly and without judgment. Allow the patron to express their thoughts without inputting your own.

3—Have patron fill out reconsideration form. Provide information and background on challenge material’s author and title.  Forward reconsideration form to appropriate supervisors.

PPLD’s Challenge Materials Policy: http://ppld.org/challenged-materials-policy

PPLD’s Collection Development Policy: http://ppld.org/collection-development-policy

Why Included?

I included “Freakboy,” because it’s a newer YA book dealing with gender identity. I also loved the beautiful verse it was written in.